


Butterflies

by Wildefire86



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Butterflies, I guess I still believe in love, M/M, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Weddings, at least for little gay hedgehogs, bring the tissues, for the happy tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29279208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wildefire86/pseuds/Wildefire86
Summary: Even after all this time, Shadow still gives Sonic butterflies.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Comments: 26
Kudos: 71





	Butterflies

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't plan on writing this, I wasn't going to post anything for Valentine's Day, but this came to me very suddenly and I absolutely had to write it down. It was a little overwhelming and ended up coming from a really... emotionally vulnerable place for me, so, lol it gave me all the feels! 
> 
> As always, a massive thank you and shout out to Dumbledore-The-Phoenix for beta reading this and all my other ramblings. You're a rock star!
> 
> To those of you who have read my stuff before, it'll come as no surprise that there is a song paired with this. I encourage you to pull up "For a Reason" by Natalie Taylor when you read this. It's... just perfect in my humble opinion. :-)
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this. <3

# Butterflies

The first time it happened, Sonic attributed it to the approaching onslaught of Eggman’s bots. It was a larger than normal army, enough to be a challenge for once, so it never occurred to him the foreign sensation in his gut might have another cause. It never occurred to him that the sudden arrival of his counterpart should have anything to do with his stomach doing flip flops and his heart jumping into his throat.

It was the heat of battle. A side effect of the job. Nothing more.

The second time it happened, he thought it was indigestion. He had been sitting with his friends, grabbing a quick patio dinner, when Shadow and Rouge walked by, their arms loaded with groceries. He’d looked up and caught crimson eyes for just a moment, and that odd feeling returned like a punch to the gut. He’d been frozen, shocked by the strength of it while his friends rattled on with the conversation, not even noticing his pause. His mouth had gone dry, his stomach had twisted, and then, with just the barest tip of his head in acknowledgement, Shadow had broken their eye contact and continued on his way.

After that, the upside down feeling had faded enough to allow Sonic movement again, but it didn't go away completely.

He had pushed his half eaten chili dog away, staring at it in confusion, thinking it odd that he was no longer hungry. Chili dogs had never upset his stomach before, not a single time, but now…. Now he felt like the chili dog he'd been eating had grown little legs and was scampering around his insides looking for some sort of escape. 

He’d made a mental note to hold off on any more chili dogs for a while.

The third time it happened, he’d been catnapping in a field of flowers, arms crossed behind his head, an ankle resting on his knee when Shadow had raced by in a burst of wind and petals, only to return a moment later when he realized who he’d just passed. And that time there was nothing else he could blame the feeling on. No armies of badniks, no misdiagnosed indigestion, only the sudden appearance of a crimson-striped hedgehog who just happened to have the ability to make Sonic’s heart stop.

And it did. 

For the briefest of moments, the hero’s heart came to a complete and total stop, and then, with one particularly distinct beat, it started again, different, changed. A little faster than normal, certainly, but not stronger or harder. Instead, the muscle in his chest seemed to beat with some strange new sense of purpose. It was no longer just about keeping him alive. For the first time in his life, Sonic felt his heart beat for another person.

It beat for Shadow. 

Sonic felt his stomach dance again, and he knew then what it was.

Butterflies. Shadow gave him butterflies.

Without fail, every time from then on, whenever his grumpy rival crossed his path, there the butterflies would be. Dancing and twirling, leaving him feeling excited, painfully awkward, flustered, and a little overheated. 

How it took Shadow so long to notice was beyond Sonic, but looking back now, knowing his lover as well as he did, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. The hybrid could come up with the most complicated, impressive battle plans he’d ever seen. He could figure out Eggman’s traps and set his own. He could disassemble bombs and fly any aircraft Sonic could, but Shadow couldn’t interpret a social cue if it hit him upside the head. 

Sonic chuckled to himself as he looked at his reflection and straightened his bow tie. The black tux he wore was brand new, tailored just for him, and he had to admit… he looked good. His cobalt quills were so shiny and healthy they shone and glistened in the light, and his emerald eyes were bright with anticipation. 

He sighed deeply and tugged his sleeves down just a touch more over his white gloves.

“Hey.”

Sonic jumped slightly, pulled from his thoughts, and looked over toward the curtained wall that separated him from the rest of the dressing tent. He smiled at his little brother as the fox slid inside the space. “Hey, bud.”

“You ready?” Tails asked, a small smile flashing across his face, his own tux looking a little big on his still lanky body.

Sonic licked his lips and shot his reflection one last look before nodding. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

“He’s waiting for you. He said to tell you he wins. Whatever that means.”

“Of course,” Sonic laughed, shaking his head. “Of course he would make today a race.”

Tails rolled his eyes and motioned for Sonic to follow him. “If it’s a race, then technically everyone beat you.”

“They’re all out there?”

“Everyone.”

Sonic gulped, took a deep breath through his nose, and let it out slowly through his mouth. Tails looked back at him, eyebrows raised. “Are you actually nervous?”

“No! I’m not nervous! I’m just--”

“Nervous?”

“Shut up.”

Tails laughed and pulled back the opening of the tent. He tilted his head toward the bright sunlight streaming through and winked an aqua eye. “It’s your party.”

“Thanks, little bro.”

“Go get him.”

Sonic smiled at the young fox and ducked his head under the thick canvas. “I think I will.”

He blinked painfully in the bright light for a moment, adjusting to the setting sun’s rays. The late summer day had been warm, too warm for his liking, but as the sun began the last portion of its journey west, the heat had finally begun to subside. 

Before him, the small crowd of people seated at white folding chairs turned as one, many of them smiling at his arrival, but Sonic didn’t see them. He didn’t see the field of wildflowers in full bloom, or the strings of white lights draped along the edges of the canopy covering their guests and reception area. He didn’t see his friends and family, allies or acquaintances. 

He only saw one thing. 

One person.

Shadow.

And just like all those times before, his stomach flipped and jumped up into his chest, and he grinned stupidly, because even after all the time he and Shadow had been together, the black hedgehog could still do that to him. They were still there. The butterflies. 

Without thought, his legs moved him forward, closer and closer, down the aisle that separated their loved ones, to the hybrid who, like him, wore a black tux that clung to him in ways that Sonic would have to be dead not to appreciate. Shadow’s upturned crimson-striped quills managed to look somehow threatening and welcoming at the same time, and as Sonic closed the last few feet of distance, he had to stop himself from reaching out to touch them.

His emerald eyes met crimson, and his gloved hands reached for Shadow’s. To the rest of the crowd, there were two hedgehogs standing before the other. Each dressed sharply, each smiling softly as the red echidna in front of them stood before the Master Emerald and read from an ancient text. The hushed crowd heard the words, saw the Master Emerald glow a little brighter, saw the two platinum rings each hedgehog held for the other.

But Sonic and Shadow saw nothing but each other. The words Knuckles recited were ones they’d already heard, and the promises they repeated after him were ones they'd made to each other long before this moment. As Sonic stared into Shadow’s eyes and pulled off his gloves to slip that symbol of eternity onto a black finger, he was brought back to those first few moments of confusion, to the first time he felt that flash of something for the agent. He felt his partner remove his own gloves, felt the cool band Shadow had picked out for him being slipped onto the ring finger of his left hand. 

Knuckles shut his text as the crowd stood to clap and cheer. Shadow’s hands were still in his, bare fingers joined, new rings reflecting tiny glimmers of light. Sonic closed his eyes and the distance between them, sealing their two lives into one with a kiss. It was a blur. And later, when he would try to recall his own wedding in detail, he wouldn’t be able to, but he would remember the most important parts.

When it was just them. 

And the butterflies.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who celebrate. If you have someone who gives you butterflies I hope it blossoms into the kind of love that I imagine Sonic and Shadow share. And if you're like me, and you don't, well, then, I hope this gives you the same kind of hope that writing it gave me. That someday, maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, maybe not this year, or even the next, but someday, there will be someone that makes your stomach do flip flops and who turns your life upside down in the best possible way.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading. <3 Your comments, kudos, bookmarks, etc. all mean so much to me, and I'm especially interested/nervous to hear what you think on this one....
> 
> Follow me @nottheweirdest1 on Twitter or nottheweirdest on Tumblr for fanfic updates. Always feel free to say hi! I'm super friendly and love talking to you guys. <3


End file.
